A player described by many as the fastest girls’ basketball player in her region, Rockmart’s Alana Jones has become the final signee of Georgia Northwestern’s 2012 Lady Cats recruiting class.
Jones, a 5-foot-1 guard, averaged 15 points per game in her senior season leading the Lady Jackets through GHSA’s Region 7-AA South. Jones also ran track her junior and senior years competing in the 400-yard run and the long jump. The Rockmart standout capped off her final high school season with an appearance in the Tennessee/Georgia All-Star game last month.
“She’s a solid worker and has a reputation for being a great point guard,” said Georgia Northwestern Head Women’s Basketball Coach Jim Williams. “She’ll fit right in. We have a lot of speed this time around and that will help us with our defense first attitude.”
Jones will take the torch from Lady Cat forward Kelsie Philpot who also came to the program from Rockmart High School just two years ago. Philpot, Kayci McGee (Cedartown), Mia Morrow (Rome), and Jessica Williams (Pepperell) are all out-going Lady Cats who helped the college win conference championships two years in a row.
The Polk County, Ga., native will be enrolling in Georgia Northwestern’s Criminal Justice program. “I’d love to do crime scene investigation,” she said.
Jones first played organized ball in the fourth grade. “It was a rec league game and her grandpa got her involved in it,” said Alana’s mother, Tania Jones. “In her first game she ever played, her team won by scoring 56 points! That’s a lot for a little league basketball game. Well, Alana scored 48 of the points.”
A four-year starter in “Jacket Country,” Jones will be in good company when it comes to speed from the prep ranks. Jones is one of six Georgia Northwestern recruits brought in during the off-season. Joining her this fall will be prep standout guards Kiarra Parks (Pepperell) and Alyssa Nichelson (Creekview). Also signing on for the 2012-13 season are forwards Mariah Price (Chattooga), Sierra Smith (Armuchee), and Terika Mostella (Cartersville).
Georgia Northwestern saw its 2011-12 season end this past March after making headlines on the national stage. The Lady Cats earned the NJCAA Region XVII title, as well as a birth into the NJCAA National Tournament. Less than a week after earning their first-ever national tourney spot, the Lady Cats fell on the road to the nation’s sixth-ranked team in Montgomery-Rockville (MD). A win would have landed Georgia Northwestern in its first-ever NJCAA Elite Eight appearance in school history.
Tryouts and open workouts for the 2012-13 Lady Cats are posted on GNTC.edu’s Athletics Page. For more information on Bobcats and Lady Cats Athletics at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, contact the Office of Sports Information at 706.764.3813 or e-mail to dfoley@gntc.edu.
Georgia Northwestern Technical College serves Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties in Georgia with campuses located in Floyd, Gordon, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties. Approximately 26,000 people benefit from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs, making it the largest college in Northwest Georgia and the fourth largest technical college in Georgia.